Advent

Today we have the final 2012 column of Sean T. Collins, in which he says hello to Aidan Koch, creator of The Whale and The Blonde Woman. Here’s an exchange from their discussion:

Are you content with tone coming through even if the transmission of the narrative is incompletely received? Is the tone the important thing to you?

Oh absolutely. I mean, think about the idea of studying literature and the hundreds and thousands of students that have to pull theses and hypothesize about symbolism and undercurrents. I think it’s fair to say that sure, those authors probably didn’t intend the majority of what people speculate, and yet we recognize it as a valid undertaking. I think what’s important is what the author does give us is a basis or guideline to such speculation. I’d much rather create work that’s dynamic and compelling than overly explanatory or simply “readable.” In comics especially, there is so much the artist has to work with in their favor between the written, visual, and sequencing. It’s kind of like how film is to photography, comics are to drawing/painting. It’s about the immersive experience.

Why is their still a MOCCA festival if MOCCA itself is no longer raising funds to support a museum? Oh, because SOI is ‘proud to increase the visibility of comics as a major component of its storied institutional mission.’ I’m not exactly clear what that means, but I assume that the cost of entry will be low and table space will be very cheap, since there is no institution in need of funding now.